Divided (Throne of Glass and A Court of Thorns and Roses Crossover)

Chapter 7

She felt hot and cold all at once as the magic ripped through her body. Aidan had focused on the sound of Aelin's voice to bring her back to the edge of the well of power. When she thought she had nothing left, another well of magic seemed to rip open inside of her, and she focused that on the Queen as well. 

Aidan didn't know if she was destroying herself or Aelin or the world around her but releasing the magic felt right. It felt like hours before the force of magic started to wane. Aidan was able to open her eyes and was finally able to see what was happening. In the corner of the room, Aelin was battling back against the overwhelming store of Aidan's magic. Shields of fire encompassed her, and looking down at herself, Aidan could see that she was shielded as well. Most of the room was a wreck, but it was still standing. 

As the magic was reduced to a few last drops, Aidan collapsed onto the ashen remains of the bed. Within seconds, Aidan fell into a sleep of complete exhaustion. 

When she awoke, Aidan was in a room she didn't recognize in a bed she didn't recognize. Her thoughts were occupied by the dream she had been having. Everything had been on fire. A small noise caught her eye, and she turned her head to stare at her nurse. 

"Oh my gods, Aidan! You're awake! You're alive and awake!" the old nurse scooped her up into a giant hug. The nurse shouted to the doors for someone named Kol. Aidan struggled out of the nurse's choke-hold and got out of the bed. 

"What happened? I don't feel sick anymore?" She tested out her legs first by walking and then by running. It was the first time she had run in over three years. 

"I think your aunt will explain it much better than I can, Your Highness," she replied. And almost as if she was summoned, Queen Aelin strode into the room, one her sons beside her.

"I hope you're proud of yourself. You almost killed the legendary Aelin Ashryver Galathynuis," she laughed. "Do you know how hard that is?"

Aidan nervously giggled, "Pretty hard, considering you're like 130."

"How dare you insult a woman's age?" Aelin smiled. 

"What happened to me?"

"You released all your stores. Right now, the magic is there but a little weak because you used up most of it. From now on, you're going to have to use it a little bit at a time so the power doesn't consume you, like it did the last time. I can help you with that."

"Did I hurt anybody?"

"No, but you did destroy your rooms. If I'm being honest, I'm glad you did. Some of those memories haunt me still," Aelin answered solemnly.

"What am I going to do now?"

"Live your life, I expect. Now that you know you can release the power, you can focus on other things. Like running a country. Finding a cute boy. Coming to visit your old aunt in Doranelle. There really isn't a limit to what you can do."

Aidan wanted to ask Aelin to stay in Adarlan to teach her, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Aelin had her own kingdom to worry about. 

"Magic has a life of its own, so you must control it. Let it out a little at a time, if it's getting to be too much. Open doors with it. Heat your room with it. Anything you really wish it to do, as long as its within your scope of magic. Go ahead. Try it out. You've been asleep for almost a week, so your magic has had time to at least partially replenish," Aelin said. 

Aidan tried to summon the fire magic, but it refused to come to her. She focused on the fireplace in the far corner of the room, but it remained as it was; this was going to be much harder than she thought.